


Stand By Me

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Canonical Character Death, Coda 2x04, Coda 2x13, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-11-01 15:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: SPOILERS TO 2x04!!!After the death of their teammate and a childhood friend, Dick and Donna find comfort in each other thanks to a song from their past.CHAPTER 2 CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR 2x13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am a sucker for best friends/siblings relationship that are deep and strong, and Dick and Donna are just that. After watching 2x04 I had to write this little thing. The moment when she leaves and he shows up in the hallway and he looks so damn sad fucked me up. I legit started crying.  
Thank you to @liathgray on tumblr for recomending me the song - it fits perfectly.  
Enjoy!

_When the night has come_  
_ And the land is dark_  
_ And the moon is the only light we'll see_  
_ No I won't be afraid_  
_ Oh, I won't be afraid_  
_ Just as long as you stand, stand by me_

***

The Tower is quiet that night. It seems like even the noise of the city below can't get through the building's walls. Most of the birthday party decorations are already taken down and abandoned in a dumpster outside. There's just a few blue and green balloons laying around the living room, because no one bothered to pick them up. The lights are out, no candles are burning, it's like this entire place is abandoned.

Dick lays awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The place might be quiet, but his mind sure isn't. Because they just lost one of their own. That wasn't supposed to happen. They knew the risks of being a vigilante, but this? He can't wrap his head around it.

Him and Donna knew Garth since they were kids. An unholy trio of sidekicks of the Justice League's Holy Trinity. Always together, even when separated by magical islands or mythical underwater kingdoms. Losing Garth feels like losing a limb. But for Donna it must be even worse.

Dick watched his two best friends fall for one another over the years. With Garth it was instant - the moment he laid eyes on her, he was a goner. But Donna took her time. And for years, Dick was the only one who knew what was happening inside her heart - because she trusted him more than anyone else from the moment they met.

And just when everything was about to work out, one fucking bullet shattered everything.

His mind wanders to his best friend. He desperately wants to do something, to make it better - starting with finding that son of a bitch who shot Garth. Revenge is a dangerous path, but what else are they supposed to do? He knows Donna needs space right now, but at the same time he knows she shouldn't be alone. He can't do anything though, not until she lets him, he learned that a long time ago.

A light buzz of his phone brings him back to reality. Dick reaches for it and sighs in relief at the sight of a notification. A text from Donna. He was scared she will close off completely, but thankfully it's not the case. He opens the message to find a Youtube link to a song and his heart clenches. _ Stand by Me _ by Ben E. King. Dick smiles sadly at the memories this song brings. A charity event at the Wayne Manor, year 2003, the night he first met Donna. Neither of them were in a mood to be there, not to mention they were the only kids in the crowd. They were seated next to each other and things were a little awkward at first, but then the band started playing this song and Dick could never forget their smiles when they both said "It's my favorite song!" at the same time. A song started a small talk, which turned into a conversation that lasted the entire night. A song that started a lifelong friendship. _ Their song _.

It was a code. They came up with it that night. They made a pact, that whenever their lives got hectic, whenever one of them was going through a tough time and needed to let everything out, the other will be there. _ Stand by Me _ was their version of _ S.O.S. _They used to use it a lot in the past. If they were in different places in the world at the moment, they would call or text each other until one of them falls asleep. And if they happened to be in the same place, they would usually do what they did that first night - lay down on the bed, face to face and just talk. Just be there for each other.

They haven't use that code in a while. They kind of grew out of it when they became adults. But Dick had never forgotten. And apparently Donna hadn't either. So he gets up from his bed and makes his way to her room. He doesn't bother to knock, she expects him. He opens the door slowly, quietly. Donna is in her bed, laying on her side, her back to him. She doesn't react, but he knows she's aware of his presence. So he lays down at her side, keeping his distance, letting her make the decision.

Donna is still for a moment, it seems like she's not even breathing. But then she turns and the sight of her face breaks Dick's heart. She's pale as a ghost, her eyes red and swollen from hours of crying. She looks at him then curls to his side, snuggling into him with her head on his chest. Dick wraps his arms around her tightly and pulls her even closer. He presses a soft kiss to the top of her head and closes his eyes, trying to swallow back his own tears. Donna lets out a strangled sob and he runs his hand through her hair, trying to calm her down.

"You remembered." she mumbles into his shirt and Dick just wants to cry. He shifts, so now they are both laying on their sides, face to face, just like back then.

"Of course I remembered." he whispers back as he tucks a strand of hair that fell on her face behind her ear. "We haven't done this since we were kids."

"Yeah…" she breathes out as she scoots closer to him. "But I really needed it tonight."

He pulls her closer again, tucking her under his chin and sighs. Donna is like a sister to him and it breaks his heart to see her like this. He feels broken himself, but he will keep it together for her sake. He has to be the strong one. He watched her crumble and now he has to pick up the pieces. Because that's what they do.

Donna shakes with sobs again and he drops another kiss to her forehead.

"Don't you dare ever leave me, Dick." she says and he grips her as tight as he can. "I can't lose you too."

"You won't." he answers with as much certainty as he can put into his voice. He moves his hands to cup her face and makes her look at him.

"You and me? It's forever." he breathes out as he wipes another tear from his best friend's cheek. "No goodbyes, you said it yourself."

Donna nods and curls into him again, as close as she can, while Dick is trying to calm her down with his hand stroking her hair softly. It takes a while for her sobs to die down, but eventually she falls asleep on his chest. Only then Dick lets his own tears fall.

***

_If the sky that we look upon_  
_ Should tumble and fall_  
_ Or the mountain should crumble to the sea_  
_ I won't cry, I won't cry_  
_ No, I won't shed a tear_  
_ Just as long as you stand, stand by me_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her room feels cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After what happened in the finale, the only right thing to do was to write this as a follow up. This fic is about grieving, so I couldn't imagine it NOT being tied up to the original work. I made myself cry writing this and I am deeply sorry if my writing caused you more pain. But this needed to be written.
> 
> To Donna Troy. Thanks for giving me a second chance at family.  
\- Dick Grayson

Her room feels cold. There's not much of her stuff here, only the necessities she had brought with herself, but it's still Donna's room. Her laptop and a camera on the desk. A hairbrush on the bedside table, an abandoned sweater on the floor. Dick picks it up slowly, his hands shaking and lips trembling, and brings it to his face. He lets out a strangled sob when a mix of her favorite perfume and shampoo hits him. His face crumbles, tears stream down his cheeks and his knees buckle. He falls on her bed, and for the first time since she died, Dick lets him cry. He completely falls apart, loud sobs coming from him, muffled only by Donna's sweater he's still pressing to his face. His heart is shattered into a million pieces, and it hurts so fucking much he can't take it anymore. He wants to scream and wail and punch something because she's gone, Donna is  _ gone _ and it's not fucking fair. 

The memories run through his brain with the speed of light. The night they met. Training sessions, missions. Long nights filled with deep conversations. Her head on his shoulder, his face in her hair. Her smile. Her laugh. 

_ Me and you? No goodbyes _ \- she told him once.

_ You and me? It's forever _ \- he had promised her in return.

But he didn't even get  _ the chance _ to say goodbye, and it seems that forever isn't that long after all.

Without thinking, Dick reaches for his phone and plays a song. The last one S.O.S. that will never be answered. The familiar tune breaks his heart even more, the lyrics gets a completely new meaning now, and another painful cry comes out of him. 

_ There are ghosts in this place, _ she said what feels like a lifetime ago. And now Donna Troy became one of those ghosts herself. 

***

_ If the sky that we look upon _

_ Should tumble and fall _

_ And the mountain should crumble to the sea _

_ I won't cry, I won't cry _

_ No I won't shed a tear _

_ Just as long as you stand, stand by me _


End file.
